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Is mindfulness meditation harmful? [updated]

2020-08-01/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Interventions, Meditation, Mindfulness, Psychology

A comprehensive study based on a dataset of more than 2,400 participants in mindfulness-based stress reduction programmes found that mindfulness meditation is not harmful in terms of psychological or physical symptoms, compared to no treatment. To the contrary, MBSR in the community appears to prevent harm. Update (13 Sept 2020): At the time of our initial post [01 Aug 2020], this study was only available as preprint, not yet peer reviewed. Meanwhile it has been peer reviewed and published in... Read more

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The Science of Mindfulness Meditation

2020-05-26/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Psychology

A brief explanation of the science of mindfulness meditation, how meditation works from a scientific perspective, what psychology and neuroscience have to say about it, why it is meaningful to meditate regularly, and what happens in the brain when we do so. Mindfulness meditation includes three components: Intention means, that we approach meditation with a certain purpose. While we meditate, we aim every moment to be purposeful or full of intention. Attention relates to the important aspect of training the... Read more

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Mindfulness meditation during shutdown

2020-04-12/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Mindfulness, Psychology

Mindfulness during uncertain times: How can we feel free while being grounded? We have heard claims that mindfulness is the solution to all our challenges. But how to we practice mindfulness meditation during the current shutdown? Regular mindfulness meditation equips us with the resilience and flexibility to face difficulties and allows us to live a more meaningful and fulfilled life. But it is not the magic bullet that we fire when feeling under pressure. It requires effort, dedication and –... Read more

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Mindfulness meditation: ten minutes a day improves cognitive function

2020-01-05/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Mindfulness, Neuroscience

Practising mindfulness meditation for ten minutes a day improves our cognition: after eight weeks meditators performed better in concentration tasks and were better able to keep information active in one’s mind, a function known as “working memory”. The brain achieves this by becoming more efficient, literally requiring fewer brain resources to do these tasks. Many big claims have been made about the effects of meditation, but too often the scientific evidence behind these claims is weak or even lacking altogether.... Read more

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Meditation and ageing: Cognitive improvements in older adults

2018-12-29/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Mindfulness

Yet another year is coming to an end and our time seems to be ticking away. Anyone feeling a bit older just by the thought of it? If so, do not despair, at least not if you fancy a bit of meditation. We now have the science about meditation and ageing: Injecting just a few minutes of meditation into our lives improves cognitive abilities – in people 55 to 75 years old! A range of recent studies suggest that regular... Read more

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Meditation and Neuroplasticity: Five key articles

2014-03-04/4 Comments/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Neuroscience

Meditation not only changes our mind but also our brain – this is what more and more neuroscientific research suggests. Neuroplasticity – the change of brain structures as a result of experience – is considered to be one of the most important discoveries of neuroscience. Over the last 10 years evidence has been growing that not only the acquisition of navigational knowledge by London Taxi drivers (see video) or learning a new motor task like juggling (see article), but also... Read more

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Advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice raises body temperature – Part 2

2013-07-19/3 Comments/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Neuroscience, Physiology

The first part of this post talked about a study that confirmed centuries old reports that through the advanced Vajrayana meditation practice Tummo the core body temperature can be raised significantly. When the forceful breathing practice was combined with the related meditation exercise (as would be the case during this type of meditation), the yogis increased their core temperature by several degrees into the slightly feverish range. As mentioned in part 1, in addition to recording changes in body temperature... Read more

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Advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice raises body temperature

2013-07-19/13 Comments/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Neuroscience, Physiology

Studying ten meditators of Tibetan Buddhism, a recent international research project provides solid evidence for centuries-old reports that through the advanced meditation practice Tummo, often referred to as “Inner Heat” or “Psychic Heat”, the core body temperature can be raised significantly. The Tummo (also “g-Tummo”) meditation practice is an advanced form of meditation that has been transmitted in the Vajrayana (or Diamond Way) traditions of Tibetan Buddhism for the last 900 years. The spectacular outer sign of this meditation is... Read more

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Cognition and Emotion in Meditation – Part 2

2013-02-07/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Psychology

In this study, Mica Allen and co-workers investigated how meditation changes cognitive and emotional processes, by looking at the involved brain areas. In the previous post I discussed evidence for the involvement of emotional processes even when performing a purely cognitive task. This study went a bit further by actually challenging emotional states while participants engaged in a task that was similar to the Stroop task that was a focus in a previous post, is carried out. The task used... Read more

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Cognition and Emotion in Meditation

2013-01-04/by Dr Peter Malinowski/in Meditation, Psychology

Research has convincingly shown the positive effects of mindfulness meditation practice on attentional mechanisms. I discussed some of these findings in previous blogs, for instance the evidence that mindfulness practice is linked to improved attentional control, which is also evidenced by neural markers that show improved selective attention as well as improved conflict resolution mechanisms. While the refinement of attention skills certainly is a central aspect of many forms of meditation training, mindfulness practice should also lead to changes in... Read more

Is mindfulness meditation harmful? [updated]

The Science of Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation during shutdown

Mindfulness meditation: ten minutes a day improves cognitive function

Meditation and ageing: Cognitive improvements in older adults

Meditation and Neuroplasticity: Five key articles

Advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice raises body temperature – Part 2

Advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice raises body temperature

Cognition and Emotion in Meditation – Part 2

Cognition and Emotion in Meditation

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